Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has once again reiterated his remorsefulness in attacking and ostracizing former President Uhuru Kenyatta during the 2022 general election maintaining that the region was ‘misled’ to attack its own son.
In a strategy aimed at galvanizing and consolidating Mt Kenya region, Gachagua, who has resulted in crisscrossing the region by making stop overs, on Friday sought for forgiveness from the people of Nyandarua and Kiambu counties saying never again shall Mt Kenya region be used to shout down one of their own.
“That is why I went to the tv station and apologized to our brother Uhuru Kenyatta. We failed and you (addressing to the locals) failed too since we were together in humiliating Uhuru but once bitten twice shy. Never again shall we humiliate our king and our leader. We shall all ‘die with our leader’ even if we feel he has done wrong, let him take us to wherever he wishes because that is what other communities do,” Gachagua said in a stopover in Kiambu.
In what is seen a ploy to remove himself from the shadows of the President and endearing himself afresh to his natives, Gachagua also moved away from the ‘Hustler versus Dynasty’ ideology that was deemed as class politics and asked the Agikuyu community not to be jealous when one of their sister is married to a wealthy man.
“Never be jealous of your sister because she has been married to a wealthy husband, that rich man may even educate your children, when you see our children go astray being used to divide our community, I urge you to advise them to reject such overtures. Let us love each other, let us be merciful to other people, let us be mindful of others because there is no infighting in other communities. They speak in one voice but infighting is planted in our region but I said never again shall we shut down our leaders,” Gachagua told his supporters.
His remarks were also aimed at the youthful leaders who been hitting him and asking him to resign if he was not contented with the Ruro led administration but at the same time registering their political allegiances to the President
“I said and I repeat never again in our house we shall agree to fight each, never again shall we humiliate our own brother, never pick a knife to stab your brother in the back who is facing forward,” he said at Kimende and Kwa Mbira towns on his way from Mutonyora Comprehensive school in Nyandarua County where he had attended the thanksgiving event.
He maintained that every leader who was not for the unity of the region was a ‘sell out, a traitor and a collaborator’ asking the community to reject them.
Gachagua who has now mastered the art of being accompanied by his lieutenants and downplaying his critics was accompanied by over ten elected MPs who hit at Nairobi Governor Johnstone Sakaja and reminded the President that Gachagua was voted in just like him and demanded for the respect to Gachagua’s office.
“We voted Ruto on our own motion and without coercion but we voted him knowing too well that his Deputy is Gachagua who was not given his position by mistake. Anyone who seeks to go against the 2022 political arrangement by disrespecting Gachagua is disrespecting the electorate,” Kajiado North Mp Onesmus Ngogoyo
He added ‘Those pointing fingers against Gachagua should be made aware that he has his job cut out and part of his job is to unite people by starting from where he comes from without fear, Gachagua is elected the same way the President is elected.’
On her part Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara urged the Gachagua critics to emulate from other communities like the Rift Valley that has taken their community leader with pride.
“When the community assigns a duty to a leader to become its leader we should cease pointing fingers at him. This has happened in other communities like in Rift Valley where the current President has never been politically targeted by his region.
Kihara expressed concerns about the youthful leaders who have made it a habit of poking holes in Gachagua. “We should stop the culture of fighting Gachagua because he is the one who carries the vision of Mt Kenya region, he promised us that the community would never face headwinds when he is in the UDA government.”
But Gachagua’s presentation as Mt Kenya region’s ‘Joshua’ by defending its rights in the government and his push for one man one vote one shilling seems to have caused ripples to the President who has been hitting Gachagua albeit indirectly, by dismissing the move as ‘politics of ethnicity’.
Yesterday, the Head of State who presided over the Madaraka Day celebrations in Bungoma said the 2022 general election buried the politics of ethnicity in the grave of the unforgotten saying the country had no time for such politics.
“The 2022 general election was a defining moment for the political trajectory of our country, it brought to an end politics of ethnicity as Kenyans vote us based on manifesto and because of individual or personalities. Going into the future I want to promise the people of Kenya that we shall not let you down. We will never go back to the politics of ethnicity, individual or personality but to focus on the agenda of uniting Kenyans,” he said.
He repeated the same message on Friday when he launched the tarmacking of Mayanka Sirisia Mukhweya and Mukhweya- Kimukung road saying “We agreed in the 2022 general election to end the politics of ethnicity. Kenyans voted to unite the country and to bring to end the political of tribalism, the biggest challenge we have is to unite our people so that we can plan the jobs our youth, agriculture the Universal Health Coverage (UHC).”
Prior to the President’s address yesterday Gachagua digressed from the agenda of the day and talked about being a fan of football but later in the evening attended the Kikuyu golden oldies ceremony christened ‘Ngogoyo’ in Laikipia County that brought together Kikuyu a host of celebrated musicians and over 10,000 fans in his push to unite the region.
The unfolding of political events continues to lay bare the fall out between the President and his Deputy.